Five Bold Moves for the Astros This Offseason

SB Nation

The MLB offseason is always overflowing with rumors and ideas, major national voices saying where players could sign or who could be traded. It makes for a lot of fun in the winter keeping the hot stove

burning.

In keeping with this tradition, here are 5 bold moves the Astros could make this offseason that would change the roster and (at least theoretically) make the team better in 2026.

Trade Christian Walker to the New York Mets in exchange for SP Kodai Senga.

In an exchange of players who may not necessarily be wanted by their existing teams but fill a significant need for the proposed new one, Walker would replace Pete Alonso at 1B and give the Mets a solid power presence and significantly upgrade their defense. Mets GM David Stearns said earlier this year “run prevention” was his theme for the offseason.

Senga, meanwhile, is the odd man out in Flushing for a team with an influx of young starters ready to ascend to the majors (if they don’t get traded for Tarik Skubal) and is currently 7th in the rotation.

Walker has 2 years and $40M remaining on his contract. Senga has 2 years and $30M remaining on his deal with a conditional option in 2028 for $15M.

Trade Isaac Paredes to the Boston Red Sox for SP Connelly Early and SP Luis Perales.

I know this is going to hurt a lot of Astros fans who love Paredes (as do I), but the fact is Paredes value is the highest it will ever be, he’s coming off a significant injury, and the best time to trade him is now. Paredes high value will help Astros fill a desperate need, which is starting pitching.

Early is a 23 year old LHP who got his first taste of the majors in 2025 and had success, going 1-2 1ith 2.33 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 4 starts covering 19.1 IP while striking out 29. His ceiling is not as high as fellow Sox prospect Payton Tolle, but he may have a higher floor. Being a lefty is also a plus for Houston, as they currently sport a very righthanded rotation. (Colton Gordon is the only LHP on the 40 man that isn’t injured and has starting experience.) Early is MLB ready.

Perales, 22, is coming off Tommy John surgery. He has a big time fastball that regularly sits 95-98, a high-80s splitter, a low-80s sweeper and a high-80s cutter. His ceiling is probably #2 starter, and floor may be closer. He recently reduced his walk rate significantly as well. He has a lot of upside with some low-to-moderate risk.

Trade CF Jake Meyers, 2B Brice Matthews and SP Spencer Arrighetti to the Kansas City Royals for SP Cole Ragans.

Meyers enjoyed a breakout offensive campaign last year at the expense of any power at all, and remains an elite defensive player. Meyers value, like Paredes, has never and will never be higher, so this is the Astros time to deal him, especially with a handful of young players (Zach Cole, Jacob Melton) on the verge of being ready for the majors.

Chances are likely that Meyers will experience a regression to the mean, even if not all the way back to his previous poor offensive numbers. While he has 2 years of team control remaining, there is definitely some risk associated with any team acquiring him.

Matthews is the Astros top prospect and only prospect in the Top-100. He is also blocked at 2B by Jose Altuve and will be until at least 2029 (when the potential of Yordan Alvarez being allowed to walk in free agency allows Altuve to DH). Matthews has potential, but his hit tool may be the weakest of those in his bag. He has a sharp eye, but racks up a lot of swing-and-miss at pitches in the zone.

Arrighetti is coming off something of a lost season after fracturing his thumb in a freak accident in Seattle in early April. When he returned, he looked nothing like the pitcher who showed so much promise as he developed the season before. Arrighetti did not miss bats in 2025 (7.9 K/9) nearly as well as he had in 2024. His walk rate, already a high 4.0 BB/9 in 2024, expanded to 5.1 BB/9 in 2025. While there is certainly upside there (evidenced by strong 10.6 K/9 in 2024), it doesn’t appear to be near Ragans. He has 4 years of team control remaining.

Ragans is 28, and a year removed from finishing 4th in the AL Cy Young award voting. Ragans has seen significant velocity increase since changing his workout routine following the 2022 season. His fastball velocity increased from 92 M.P.H to 96.5 in one offseason, and his strikeout totals and rates have exploded.

After striking out 223 batters in 2024, Ragans missed half of 2025 with a rotator cuff strain. He did return in September and finished the season with an incredible K/9 rate of 14.3 over 13 starts.

Ragans has 3 years team control remaining.

Sign Alex Bregman to play 1B.

There is something to the idea of “getting the band back together” with this, but Bregman finds himself in an interesting position. His market is not as robust as it should be not because he didn’t play well, but because most of the big spending teams aren’t spending like they previously have.

Part of that is due to the fact those teams already have several large contracts and don’t want to be mega-tax payers. Part of it is due to the fact that those teams have pressing needs at other positions.

Bregman could find himself being pushed into a shorter term deal, which we all know he doesn’t want. Enter the Astros.

Houston could offer him the exact same deal they did a year ago, and instead of being below market, it would be exactly what Alex wants – 5 years and $150M and playing with the team where he saw the most success.

A leadership team of Bregman and Correa would be fantastic for the amount of new and young players the Astros are likely to have in 2026, and Bregman would likely be an elite defensive first baseman as it has often been an easy transition for 3B to make to 1B (see: Gurriel, Yuli). The Astros would have one of the best offensive infields in the game, and if any of their young outfielders pan out, could have a surprisingly good offense in 2026.

Bregman’s approach at the plate would also be exactly what the team is looking for: high average, high on-base, power, pitch selectiveness.

Trade CF Jacob Melton, SS Xavier Neyens and SP Anderson Brito to the Cleveland Guardians for LF Steven Kwan.

There has to be a big fish to trade a lot of your top prospects in one deal for, and Kwan is that fish for the Astros.

Kwan is a 4x Gold Glover, 2x All-Star and has two years remaining of team control. He doesn’t strike out much, he hits for a solid average and has a decent OBP. He has the speed to steal bases, he hits left handed. He is exactly the kind of player that the Astros want in their lineup. All hustle, no grief.

The cheapo Guardians are always looking to turn an asset into several young players who could be multiple assets, because despite being owned by the very wealthy Dolan family (Paul Dolan runs the team, son of Larry Dolan, who passed away February 2025).

While it would be a lot to give up from the Astros system, bigger picture says none of those players are top-100 prospects and the one with the best upside are Neyens (19) and Brito (21), neither of whom would be ready for the majors for several seasons, presuming they both pan out.

This would leave the Astros with a lineup that could look something like this:

SS- Jeremy Pena

DH- Yordan Alvarez

1B – Alex Bregman

3B – Carlos Correa

2B – Jose Altuve

LF – Steven Kwan

C – Yainer Diaz

CF- Zach Cole

RF- Cam Smith

That’s a pretty damn good lineup, and it would also play some serious defense. When the Astros were at their best last season, they were built on run prevention – pitching and defense.

The Starting Rotation would look something like this: